Violet Patterson, returns to Jorie Loves A Story!
Author who created the the Emerald Seer series!
By which the interview commenced,
between Jorie and Ms. Patterson!
It’s been quite the exciting week here on Jorie Loves A Story, whilst I have welcomed two authors via Tomorrow Comes Media who have ignited my imagination with fantasy worlds which knit your brows into a pensive pause after you close their books! Today, it is my pleasure to welcome back Ms. Patterson who is celebrating the omnibus/boxed set release of her Emerald Seer series re-packaged and entitled: The Storm Sullivan Saga! All the stories are in one volume which works well for those who are quite anxious and eager to read a complete series in one sitting! I am thankful that I have been able to host such wonderful writers, giving you something to ponder about their writing styles and their approach to the craft! Let us sit back now and see where my conversation took me with Ms. Patterson!
After you were featured on The Star Chamber Show, I had started to ask you a few questions about your writings on Twitter. I thought I’d take a moment to expand on our conversation. First of all, could you delve into how a radio programme led to creating the Emerald Seers? Especially as this is a series which dips into the paranormal?
Patterson responds: Ha ha ha. Yes. I am a huge fan of The Doors. I was in a coworker’s office and there happened to be a special tribute to Jim Morrison on the radio station she was listening to. Riders on the Storm came on as we were talking character names that would fit such a story and my mind went off into just the right direction. I often get triggers like that so I took it in stride, bid adieu to my friend and practically ran back up to my office to start writing. Yes, I should have been working but the idea hit me so hard and I naturally had my awesome netbook on me so I started Ryder on the Storm which eventually evolved into the entire series that it is.
I loved hearing how the entire impetus of the Emerald Seer series was sparked into life on the page on the out-spurt joy of a song! As I foresaid in your Guest Post, music has such a convincing way of reaching into the heart of our imaginative lens it pulls forward stories we might not have even realised were possible to conceive! The hitchings of those fervent moments on the heels of a new story are the ones that I personally cherish myself! Where you cannot even sit nor think until you start to chisel out the foundational bones of your emerging story! I loved the action of you darting back to your office not for work mind you, but for writing! Classic!
I had asked that one of the things I am curious about for writers of serial fiction is if they have any trouble with longevity in maintaining continuity. You spoke about how you do not use an outline anymore than I do, which I always smile in acknowledging a writing kinship. How do you feel writing organically as our characters shift the story forward works as well as it does?
Patterson responds: I could not write any other way. My characters come alive in my head and I write the story as it plays out, filling in the details of the “movie” I am watching and sometimes smoothing language when it is too crass for my tastes. Believe me, I smoothed a lot of Lucian’s lines. Ryder started out as one book then became a trilogy and ended up as it is. Initially, End of the Night was to be the third full length book, there was no Love Her Madly, but as I was writing it felt wrong and my characters became confused in my head. Imagine them all walking into walls like malfunctioning robots. The story stopped coming until I realized I needed to stretch it out and fill in the tale of Damarra and Roane. My characters came back to life when I gave them what they apparently wanted. It always happens that way. I just have to find out what they want and occasionally what they need to keep going. As long as my characters are happy then I am happy and the story progresses. It’s as if they naturally stop me when something doesn’t work. I am not sure that would happen if they were constrained by an outline.
I hadn’t thought this was such an extraordinary way of writing, until I question writers about their process and on the occasion I find another think-writer like myself, it never fails to amaze how none of us realise how unique it is the methodology of our writings! Ah, yes, that space between knowing when a story is flatter than a nail and breathing with life bursting into your pen! I always lament that writing is not meant to be forced nor strained against, it is meant to bubble and burst and imaginate itself onto paper from our hearts. I love when characters derail our original ideas of where their lives are leading us, taking us instead down a corridor we hadn’t even yet seen emerge!
I personally generate a flowing and cascading notation of ideas, characters, and scenes in-progress for the opening bits of writing a new story. At some point, I stop making the notations: writing free form. I love the process of discovery as I write. Why do you think others must outline everything before creating one sequence of narrative? Rather than jump-diving straight into their creative muse?
Patterson responds: Some people are planners. I personally don’t understand how they can be so organized for such a creative venture but I’m learning the some people crave structure and others fear losing ideas or getting lost. shrugs It’s not my thing but then my process is as nutty as I am!
Until you mentioned ‘some people crave structure’ I hadn’t quite purported what the difference was between myself and other writers! I think the mere fact that I thrive without structure and without limitations is why I was attracted to nursing my writing craft. I wanted to see where I could take myself by the pen and not feel as oppressed as I did whilst caught up in traditional education. A way to disengage from the ‘rules’ of writing whilst honing in on what works within the framework of story-telling. Its a bit of a rush of adrenaline in some ways, because nothing exists until you create it into life!
You had mentioned that you write the movie as it reveals itself to you in your imagination. To me, that sounds like you’re a think-writer like I am. Have you found others who create in this manner whilst interacting with other writers?
Patterson responds: You are the first, my friend. Most people look at me like I am committing a sin when I say such things. I am sure there are others, there have to be, right? I have ALWAYS had a vivid imagination so it is no surprise to my family and close friends when I tell them how I write. Perhaps this is precisely why I cannot write with an outline, I do not think in a linear fashion.
Yes, perhaps that is the rub!? Not every writer can lift themselves off the linear plane and look at things from a different spacial format? Its a bit like saying I’m not as strong in expository writing as I am in creative! We each have our own paths inside our gifts and we each have to sort out how to best use the strengths we were given to bring them into being. I am not sure why you would receive a backlash from other writers by simply explaining how you approach your craft and how the craft fuses together in you mind’s eye?! I would imagine there are as many different methods of creating story and using the words to convict the emotions as they are branches of literature!? Why not celebrate our differences and embrace the fact we are all artists, creators, and writers!?
What are your tools for the trade!? What is an inside glimpse into your process as a writer and where do you create the stories best?
Patterson responds: Ah, this is an interesting question. I can write on just about anything just about anywhere. However, I prefer my netbook or one of my many bargain bought journals (Barnes & Noble always has an excellent selection for $5 or less). However, I just purchased a brand new iMac and I LOVE writing on it. Other than that I need music, lots and lots and lots of music. I have pretty eclectic tastes though I tend to favor classic rock and singer/songwriters. I used to love sitting in coffee shops to write when I lived in Seattle because of the ambiance. Now, it varies. I still enjoy the coffeehouse setting but it has to have a certain feel in order for me to be truly productive. My living room has a very Bohemian feel to it and I can write there just as well as anywhere.
As for process, I write whenever it strikes me, whenever my characters are active and as often as I can. Sometimes I am struck with scenes and I write or type them using whatever is closest to be translated to my flash drives and back up flash drives later. You never know when a particular scene will turn into something massive and I always have several ideas whirling around my head. I think I have a few napkins filed away from when I went to Ireland and was struck with ideas in the midst of active pubs.
I had to google ‘netbook‘ as that is one piece of tech I had not yet come across! I used to think I’d carry a Macbook with me but my experiences of lugging my regular notebook with me during Nanowrimo killed the dream! Too much to be concerned with whilst travelling, when I really just wanted to write! I’ve gone old school, preferring to keep notebooks (paper lined!) and pens on hand with that wicked sweet white-out tool that glides over your mistakes!? No fumes!? Love it! I think the absence of tech when I am out in cities and on the town inside coffeehouses and teahouses is the best way for me to capture the essence of what I can write in those environs. It helps settle my mind without being concerned about outlets, power chords, and the paraphernalia of carrying it all! Having said that, despite my love for my PC computer right now as it’s seriously working with me rather than against me; ever since my aging and now dead iMac went into the graveyard I do miss the accessibility and interface of the Mac environment! I will have a new Mac in my future, but in desktop form only!
Aside from our individual preferences in tech, the main thing we share in common is the necessity of keeping music with us whilst we create! I listened to a heap of Celtic ballards during Nanowrimo! I agree with you on inking out scenes, sequences, character sketches, and dialogue whilst the muse is capturing our attention! I oft wonder how everything I’ve writ will stitch together, but then I remind myself as a writer the pieces only fuse together when the book they are meant to integrate into is birthed!
I know the advantages of having Mid-West roots, as my maternal grandparents and Mum came from there originally. What do you think sets apart those who originate from the Mid-West? I oft find Mid-Westerns are social, engaging, adventurous, and have an efficacious easy-going personality. Do you find this as well?
Patterson responds: This is a tough question for me. I hope I do not offend anybody as it is not my intent at all. I was born and raised here but I have never felt a part of the Midwest. In fact, I’ve wanted out as long as I can remember. I confess that part of it is the weather (I have terrible sinus problems and migraines)but I really have never felt a part of the Midwest. I spent two years in Seattle and absolutely loved it there. I think it is because I am capable of being social, engaging, and of course, adventurous but I prefer the solitude more often than not. There is something to be said for being around a crowd but not a part of it. I could walk the streets of Seattle, observe people and exchange pleasantries but not be probed for more. Here in the Midwest I find that everybody wants to know everything about everybody else and it can become a touch invasive. I do think Midwesterners are open and welcoming and adventurous as they fan out and you can truly find a core group of Midwesterners in every major city I’ve been traveled to. There is something to be said for that. I am proud of my roots I just long to stretch my wings as well.
No you didn’t offend me and I surely hope others who alight on my blog will see that not every region is a strong fit for everyone! For starters, what you’d prefer to not have around you inside a community is the one thing that I personally would appreciate! I have always lived in areas where the community at large tends to be a bit of a cold shoulder and indifferent to each person’s lives. It takes the ability to shift the moon in the stars to get people to engage in a conversation or get to know you on a personal level. For me, I’d rather have people genuinely interested in starting a friendship, even if they tend to know more about me than I first might think possible, if it would be a better balance of feeling connected to the community as a whole rather than a constant outsider. Yet, having said that, those are my goals, and if you feel more comfortable in the Pacific Northwest where you can blend in and out moving through your life where you can pick and choose when to engage and when not too, then I think that is wonderful as well! We all have to be confident in knowing where we are comfortable and in what living environment works for us.
To be a writer, you have to be quite bold, a bit daring, and fully confident in your world as your creating an experience for the reader to gain entrance through the lives of your characters. How did this first appeal to you and why do you think its gone as well as it has thus far?
Patterson responds: I am pretty bold, definitely daring and working on the confidence. I’ve told the story many times over of how when I was young I would fashion costumes from computer paper and construction paper for my brother and sister to wear whilst they performed plays I wrote for them. When I was a senior in high school I wrote a parody of Moby Dick by splicing it with Forrest Gump and made a video of it at a friend’s house featuring several of my friends in the all too familiar roles. Now, I enjoy cosplay and have hooked my kiddos into the lifestyle. It is all a part of who I am and I know no other way to be. I actually asked my daughter if she would prefer I not be so “colorful” and curtail this side of myself at school and when they are with me. She had a mini meltdown at the thought of me not doing all of these things. It felt good to know my kids are so supportive and I am so grateful to share this all with them. I guess what I am saying is that this part of me is very genuine and I think people see that, not only when I am in costume at an event but also when I am discussing my love of writing and of my books. I never have to force it when it comes to this world and that is a rare, beautiful thing.
I have never attended a Cosplay event myself, but I have been familiar with the artistry and the costume design involved in them, as I have had friends throughout my life who were quite active at conventions! I have also followed a few cosplayers online seeing where their creativity took them and the costumes they created were quite stellar in my opinion! Bang-on the level of professional costume designers in motion pictures for the most part! I love the fact that everyone involved gets this spark of excitement for bringing to life the characters we all tend to be familiar with through stories across mediums and then, they are fully erect and alive! I find that quite fascinating! The most endearing bit for me is when you disclosed your children didn’t want you to stop being their creative Mum who takes them on adventures that others their age could only hope their parents would embrace! I say, rock on! Live a creative life and paint magic with stories and characters who are living entities in your lives!
What were your favourite books and authors whilst growing up? What stood out about the ones your referencing?
Patterson responds: There are so many I hardly know where to begin. One of the first books I ever read was Corduroy and my copy is in my kids’ collection of books because my mother set it aside and held onto it for me. I loved the story, the small, curious bear looking for his button and the young girl with a big heart who loved him as he was, missing button and all. Beyond that I was a huge fan of Shel Silverstein from The Giving Tree to Where the Sidewalk Ends and I think it was his command of prose that held my interest for so many years. I still have to read “Peanut Butter Sandwich” with my son on a regular basis. As I grew up I rolled into Nancy Drew and the Babysitters’ Club with many of my friends but I quickly outgrew them. By sixth grade I discovered Stephen King and it was all over at that point. From It to Pet Sematary to Carrie, I read and read and read some more. Naturally, I was forced to read “the classics” in high school and I confess to loving a few (Tale of Two Cities, Les Miserables, Catcher in the Rye).
In spite of all of these fantastic works, my all time favorites remain The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. My love affair with all things Tolkien has not waned, not even a little. My first (and currently only) tattoo is Sindarin Elvish and it says warrior. I’ve read The Hobbit with my kids (twice now actually) and it never gets old. I take something new away each time I pick up one of my well worn copies. They just resonate with me in a way I cannot fully explain.
Our reading lives run parallel to each other for the most part, until they took different forks in the path as where you headed into Stephen King, I veered off into Michael Crichton, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, and others who challenged me to read hearty fiction by eighth and ninth grade! I wanted to jolt myself out of literature for children and sort out which realms in adult literature I could embrace. There were parts of me who knew historical fiction would play a strong role, even though I hadn’t read much past trilogies by Dana Fuller Ross or Judith Pella! I wanted to just abandon logic and read. I even wrote a blog post about The Giving Tree and its importance in our lives! I never outgrew Silverstein or Nancy Drew (& the Hardy Boys), but The Baby-Sitters Club even made it into a book report in fifth grade! Tolkien I am going to tackle when I have the flexible space of time to properly sink into his works, whilst reading Middle Earth in the order in which the world is set. I think I purposely held off on reading the classics until I was older. There were a few of course that made it into my hands, but overall? I wanted to go in different directions and return back to what I knew I would always love!
One of my favourite haunts whilst growing up was the local public library, whereupon I could spend literally hours absorbing the plethora of choices staring at me from the shelves. Did you find equal inspiration and creative curiosities at a library as a child? Did you grow up enjoying conversing with librarians about writers and stories?
Patterson responds: I still remember my favorite librarian, Miss Amy. She was the one who pushed me into new genres and never questioned when I wanted something more difficult or less “girly” to read. I am so grateful for Miss Amy’s guidance to this day.
My heart simply overflowed with joy reading this! I always hope all children have the chance to be wrapped around the joy we’ve had as children in libraries!
I was reading on your blog that you miss Pike’s Place Market. I was in the Pacific Northwest when I a bit younger than I am now, and Pike’s Place for me was the convergence of energy I was seeking to find! I loved moving from stall to stall, engaging with the people who sold their homemade wares and learning the finer points of how to throw a fish from the fishmongers! What do you think attracts creatives like us to Pike’s Place’s synergy?
Patterson responds: It is the convergence of all types of people. The air around the Market is almost electrically charged and there is always something new happening. I have seen some of the most amazing people at the Pike Place Market from the peculiar to the spectacular and everything in between. There is one woman in particular who just amazed me – think of Grandmama from Addams Family but with live birds living on her and her little cart. She wandered about downtown Seattle without a care in the world beyond her birds who were her family. She bothered nobody but watched everybody. I found her utterly fascinating. Where else can you find somebody like that walking around minding her own business and being left to it? Aside from the people, the food is spectacular (I never had a bad meal) and the scenery is breathtaking.
Isn’t that the truth!? A proper cross-roads where everyone is welcome with open arms and open minds! I love the woman you described for being wholly true to herself whilst being amongst people who accepted her on sight rather than criticised her through prejudicial eyes! We need more acceptance and tolerance in this world and this is a living testament of a city whose already embraced that not only in theory but in practice! Seattle rocks!
What can you reveal about the Emerald Seers series that readers might find a bit surprising to learn?
Patterson responds: Hopefully there is a lot that would surprise them. I put a lot of effort into throwing some twists into all of the books because I have always enjoyed that. Without giving away any huge plot secrets, I can say that Dorian the Vampire initially died in the last book but I thought better of it and changed things up. I am actually very glad that I did because Dorian now has his own trilogy (Immortal Machinations, a Steampunk/Fantasy) and it leaves open a lot of doors for future works. I ended up falling in love with the character and his back story so I just could not let him go.
I haven’t yet discovered Dorian, as I’ve only just begun your Emerald Seer series, but I love how he bespoke of a continuation of his path to be spilt into his own trilogy! That is such a brilliant moment for you as a writer! To find further stories to tell and a character willing to share his side of the story! The best stories are those where the writer loves their character to the brink they want to bring them out in the best possible light they can for readers to latch a hold of them too!
And, how did you decide to shift into steampunk whilst undertaking the “Immortal Machinations” series? What does this new series involve!? I loved how you quoted River Song whilst mentioning this new series on your blog? I’m not aiming for ‘spoilers’ but a mere ‘tasting’ of what is coming!
Patterson responds: LOL! I should have read this question before answering the last! Ah, well. I am a HUGE fan of the Steampunk genre and I’ve wanted to write something in the genre for some time but nothing felt right. Then, as I was finishing the Emerald Seer Series I realized that Dorian would be perfect to build a Steampunk book around. Since it has turned into a trilogy with the first being much heavier fantasy with rudimentary Steampunk elements but the second and third installments being very heavy in the Steampunk genre. It will involve sort of my idea of the evolution of Steampunk as sub-story. I got a bit stuck with this story twice now but I think I’ve ironed it all out and am going in the right direction. I exhilarated by this story and hope that my readers will be as well.
Oh, there are no set parameters here on Jorie Loves A Story! The carefree spirit of interviews are always encouraged by me! Besides, perhaps it was I, who should have asked the questions in reverse!? Laughs. I am celebrating along with you for the joyful bliss Immortal Machinations is giving you!
For those who are not Whovian, but might hesitate to dig into Doctor Who (as I myself, was one of those prior to November 2013!), what advice would you give them to convince them their missing out on an experience quite spectacular!? And, you know I must ask you, who is your favourite doctor and why?
Patterson responds: Doctor Who is unlike anything else out there. Truly. We actually started with the Ninth Doctor because we were unable to watch some of the earlier versions though I’d seen bits and pieces in the past. My kids were hooked from the minute Christopher Eccleston grabbed Billie Piper by the hand and told her to run. We have since found ways to watch more of the Classic Doctor Who episodes and I have to say that we really enjoy the 4th Doctor. People need to watch it because it is nutty and off the wall and just fun. There is a reason that Doctor Who has been so beloved for so long. It. Is. Spectacular.
My favorite Doctor. Hm. That is tough. I have not watched one I have not enjoyed and that is another marker of a fabulous show. I am actually looking forward to Peter Capaldi. I think he will be brilliant. However, if I am being honest with myself, I have to say that David Tennant is my favorite. I am excited to take the kids to meet Matt Smith at the end of March and I thoroughly enjoyed him as the 11th, but there was something about David Tennant as the 10th that just stuck with me. My son will actually be cosplaying the 10th Doctor this year at cons. He’s seven and completely smitten with Doctor Who. He does a perfect impression of the Empty Child as well! Yes, we are definitely Whovians!
Ah, the question I proposed solely for my own edification! Laughs. I love seeking out Whovians and seeing where the conversations take us whilst caught up in our joy and passion for the series! I was supposed to see Christopher Eccleston ahead of Matt Smith, but the dvd which came in through ILL (inter-library loan) was a bit too damaged to run properly, but the little bit I saw of his “Who” didn’t endear me. Rather when I saw my first true episode of Doctor Who, it was with Van Gogh and I was in such a puddle of wrecked tears that I nearly couldn’t choke out a breath! That was the single episode I knew that whatever I felt I had conceived Doctor Who as being was quite far from the reality of the series! It wasn’t just quirky and spectacularly humourous, it was brilliantly tied into the human condition and the heart of who we are as a species. It was a series that shattered genres and evoked such a breadth of humanity whilst in pursuit of understanding an alien lifeform quite attached to ‘us’ in return. Therefore, my Doctor is the very one your meeting in person this month!! Maybe you could share a story from that encounter afterwards!? I’d love that! Tennant I must confess was the Doctor I heard the most about prior to watching Who, and is of whom took me by complete surprise as to liking him as much as I do now! It wasn’t an immediate draw, like Matt Smith, but I think that is because we always become so very attached to certain characters who resonate with us!! Then, right before I realised it, my heart was spilt and torn between Doctors 10 & 11! Heaven help me when I start to borrow the rest of the series & enter into the classical Whos!! How many Doctors can one Whovian be attracted too!?
Why do you think science fiction appeals to those of us who dare to dream and perceive the world through inventive eyes whilst asking the bigger questions that affect humanity and the human heart?
Patterson responds: For me it has always been the possibility of more. Sci Fi leaves no stone left unturned and you can press every angle because our reality is so easily suspended. Beyond that, Sci Fi doesn’t just toe “the line.” Sci Fi bends the line, warps it, twists it, distorts it and in the end convinces you that “the line” never existed in the first place. There is no singular answer, no one supreme anything in Sci Fi and fans can love so many worlds with so many Gods and so many belief systems without being considered unfaithful to any of them. Science Fiction is brilliant for all these reasons and so many more!
Yes, precisely!! You said this is such an eloquent way, that all I can say in response that I agree whole-heartedly! Cheers!
What is your greatest joy as a writer? As a woman?
Patterson responds: As a writer, my greatest joy is breathing life into my characters and watching them flourish on the pages. I think my greatest moment in this whole process was hearing my daughter read my book to my son – my YA epic fantasy Estelan not my Emerald Seer Series. She then told him, “Mommy wrote this for us. She said so in the acknowledgements.” Hearing my words off my daughter’s lips when she could read any book out there was so very fulfilling. I guess that ties into my greatest joy as a woman, being a Mom. My entire life I wanted to be a Mom and now that I am it is the one driving force that guides every choice I make and it is because of my kids that I finally had the courage to publish what I have written and to stick with it even when things were dismal.
The blessings which arise in our lives are enriched and deepened when our children give us back such a breadth of love and support. The way in which they interpret the world and the way in which they express themselves not only become cherished memories but they are the voices which expand our hearts. I am thankful to hear that you have such a blessed circle of love in your life and little ones who encourage you whilst you are pursuing your creativity!
Official Author Websites: Blog | Twitter | Facebook
I am full of gratitude for Ms. Patterson in taking the time to not only answer my questions with such a light-hearted spark of joy, but for taking the time to make hosting this blog tour such a lovely one for me! I feel as though I can relate to her writing process as much as the creative side of her personality as well! It’s always nice to meet warm and kind spirits who are as equally as creative as you are! I am thankful our paths have crossed and I know I will be keeping in touch with her whilst I continue to read her Storm Sullivan saga! I hope for those who drop by, this interview has been equally as engaging for you! Please leave a note for the author if you have anything you’d like to say or ask!
{ a special stop on the “Emerald Seer” blog tour!}
Virtual Road Map for “Emerald Seer” Blog Tour:
Similar to blog tours, when I feature a showcase for an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog.
This Author Interview is courtesy of:
Be sure to scope out upcoming tours on my Bookish Events page!
Cross-listed on: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Fridays via On Starships & Dragonwings
{SOURCES: The Emerald Seers Saga cover art, Violet Patterson’s photograph, as well as the tour host badge provided by Tomorrow Comes Media and used with permission. I requested an Author Interview with Ms. Patterson whilst giving the questions to Stephen Zimmer and received the answers from Patterson via Zimmer. Post dividers were provided by Shabby Blogs, who give bloggers free resources to add personality to their blogs. Author Interview badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.
Kate Mosse is the multimillion selling author of four works of nonfiction, three plays, one volume of short stories and six novels, including the New York Times bestselling Labyrinth and Sepulchre. A popular presenter for BBC television and radio in the UK, she is also cofounder and chair of the prestigious Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize) and a member of the board of the National Theatre of Great Britain. In 2013, she was named as one of the Top 100 most influential people in British publishing and also awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to literature. She divides her time between England and Carcassonne, France.
Ruth Hull Chatlien has been a writer and editor of educational materials for twenty-five years. Her specialty is U.S. and world history. She is the author of Modern American Indian Leaders and has published several short stories and poems in literary magazines. The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte (2013) is her first published novel.